Kents Hill School

1614 MAIN ST

Readfield, ME 04355

17 Reviews

School District
Grade

9-12
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by other on February 18, 2025

There are very intolerant teachers at the KHS. If you do not agree with the politics of the instructors (science, math, "HISTORY" teachers especially), you will be basically erased. Teachers are to instruct their disciplines, not promote and try and indoctrinate students on their personal feelings and beliefs. The school promotes tolerance - yeah, no!
Submitted by student on November 03, 2024

Kents Hill is a nice campus and i thought it would be the change to my life . Coming to kent’s hill as a girl that’s a Freshmen thought it would be a good connection but i was wrong. MAINE hall is more than gross there is constantly spiders and roaches all over maine hall, you can tell kent’s hill half did all the rooms holes in the screen etc . Just that information right there was enough for me to realize Kent’s Hill isn’t my home away from home . Water stinks, constantly getting cold, and water laundry always broke . If i knew this about kent’s hill i honestly would’ve never even came here . Kent’s hill has benefited me with the LC aka learning center if it wasn’t for that i wouldn’t even have good grades. now let’s talk about sage SAGE is great my problem is that u guy’s constantly give us the same meals and someone that’s a boarding student gets fed up with having the same meals everyday. The way i got told how kent’s hill was i feel like i got scammed . coming from a black student some times i feel uncomfortable here at this school and regret every move maybe if i was a day student it will be different but kent’s hill makes there boarding students live any kind of way .
Submitted by other on December 16, 2023

Enroll at your own risk. My title 1 Public school has newer textbooks and more dedicated teachers. They treat the teachers so bad that a bunch of them left last year. We started with 3 dorm parents for a dorm of 30 girls, by the end of the year we had 1 dorm parent. This place is a mess.
Submitted by parent on October 16, 2023

Look at how a school open for so long has one review in 2023 and the rest are years old. Almost like they work to scrub reviews.
Submitted by parent on January 02, 2023

My child is a senior at Kents Hill, having attended 4 years there. He's had some wonderful teachers but most of them left - see indeed,com for comments by former teachers and staff regarding Kents Hill's decline under the current management. It's clearly a culture of cronyism and very dictatorial in its management of faculty and staff. For my son's part, it's been a long struggle since he's not a star athlete, not a prom king and doesn't come from a lot of money. With the exception of his former teachers (most of whom quit), and his friend group, he hasn't supported or encouraged. We can't wait for graduation!
Submitted by other on April 21, 2019

Overall I'm glad I went to Kents Hill and I do love the school, but I think it has a lot of problems that need to be addressed to make it what it wants to be. Kents Hill can't be everything and they seem to want to do just too much and it suffers for it.
Submitted by parent on September 11, 2014

What a mixed bag...the administration is in complete disarray, and has been for 4+ years as represented by 3 Headmasters-- they need a 4th Head who has actual leadership qualities, not a political wind sniffer. Many of the long term upper echelon (Deans, Administrators, and Business Office) should have left the profession a decade ago. Many have very close ties to the Board of Trustees which further complicate and undermine the Head's role. The core faculty and staff are wholly competent professionals and thoroughly dedicated to the students. The student teacher ratio is also great, particularly in the honors classes. Sports are emphasized and required year round--this has been wonderful for teenage kids who too often find themselves behind screens. Overall, I m very pleased our kids have gone there, but I m really concerned for the future of the school if they can t get their proverbial act together--soon. The consequence of doing nothing will be a further erosion of their admission standards as they seek the almighty tuition dollar to obscure the deeply rooted incompetence behind the curtain. Would I recommend? Yes, but look at the competition closely.
Submitted by other on September 09, 2014

I am a kid on the Kents Hill Campus. Life is fantastic!!!!!!! The dining hall is fantastic! The head master is fantastic and the community feel is fantastic!!! Nothing is bad about the school but the fancy dinners are stressful. Kents hill is a great place to be and I recommend this school to anybody!!!
Submitted by other on August 09, 2014

Academically, not challenging in the slightest. Received more of an education from my public high school. Trips are uninteresting and trips to Augusta and Portland are boring after a month. Sports are mandatory, which means even subpar players get to play with outstanding athletes which equals to barely winning anything. The school has nothing going for it, except keeping kids in check. Kids are constantly having sex in each other's dorm rooms, in the orchard, in the woods, etc. The school is good for kids who aren't acedemically or sports inclined and just need an environment where their lackluster abilities don't austrocize them. I'm serious, if your kid is average or an underachiever, Then this place is great.
Submitted by student on October 10, 2013

The quality of teachers and sense of community that students experience at Kents Hill is like no other place around. Students are nurtured while they grow to be more independent and find their true academic interest. I wouldn't be half the person I am today without Kents Hill and I know so many who feel the same way. It is way way more than just a school and is such a special place for so many people.
Submitted by parent on September 01, 2013

Our son is a 4 year graduate with honors from KHS 13'. He played many sports with the school primarily he was a 4 year varsity hockey player. He moved 1500 miles from home at 14 years old. That would never have happened w/o the family environment the school offers. He is currently talking with 4 Ivy League schools and a Hockey East school. This couldn't happen without the outstanding curriculum, staff and coaching KHS provided the last 4 years. This season he is playing in the USPHL Premier league and is looking forward to following his dream of playing division 1 hockey. Kents Hill is a great stepping stone for whatever your child's college ambitions are. We would not change a thing.
Submitted by parent on August 31, 2013

My son attended the 10th grade at KHS, after graduating from The Rectory School in CT. The Rectory School is a great school that I can highly recommend. The same can NOT be said for KHS. This school is a complete mess. The Headmaster has been fired after just 2 years. The current Headmaster is there only on a temporary basis, 2 yrs max. Each & every marking period, my son's schedule was posted wrong online on KHS website. 2nd marking period KHS didn't have books for my son's class for 2 weeks, but held him accountable for work. In Chinese class, teacher went to seminar during finals oral presentation & had her husband! come to class & record presentations which she would review & grade when she returned. There are too many other schools out there that do not have any of these problems for you to waste your child's time & your money. My son has transferred to a new school. KHS needs time, perhaps up to 5 yrs to get their school back on track. A proud school that is living off its reputation. Almost no school spirit was evident & student life was lackluster with no real student activities planned regularly for each wkend. I feel you have many other choices of better schools.
Submitted by student on July 17, 2013

I am a student at Kents Hill going into my senior year in the fall of 2013. Kents Hill is a small college prep school in Readfield, Maine. I love this school. The teachers are always there to give you the extra help you need and the feel of the community is like a family. I am very happy in every aspect of the school and couldn't wish for anything more in my high school experience. Kents Hill has done a wonderful job making me confident in everything I do!
Submitted by parent on July 17, 2013

Kents Hill School has a wonderful sense of community. The school works hard with every student to bring out his/her best qualities and to empower each student to be responsible for his/her own future. Students with differences are clearly accepted by the other students in more mature atmosphere than many public schools. Kents Hill sets the bar very high for the students, and most of the students reach or exceed those standards. The financial sacrifice is well worth the education. High moral values and character are valued at the school both by staff and by fellow students. Peer pressure is strong to succeed. Even though the school is primarily a boarding school, I rated the school high on Parent involvement due to the rating criteria. The school certainly tries to partnership with the parents, whether they are local or from another state/country. It is truly up to the parent to jump on board.
Submitted by other on May 26, 2013

Kents Hill provides a kind of "bubble" from the outside world. And within its spherical walls are a whole lot of folks who wish to help you. I found so much kindness from the faculty and my fellow classmates and I can only hope that I did the same. The sheer beauty of the place is breathtaking, especially in the fall. Just beware of the harsh Maine winters. And it's on a hill, so the wind factor is atrocious. Still, there are a couple of fireplaces about, and the one in the newly built Learning Center is wonderful to curl up in a chair next to. I wish that the quality of the food was better, or at least have better quality vegetables. One shouldn't have to resort to Lucky Charms and bagels to get through the day. And as far as academics go, I think that a course in philosophy and economics should be required! Still. I had an extraordinary four-year experience living there and I can't thank my parents enough for allowing me to attend. I tried things that I never had before, like fencing and softball, and fell in love with both. Thank you Kents Hill School!
Submitted by student on February 22, 2013

DON'T GO HERE!! I don't really know where these wonderful reviews come from... I went to this school for four years and I can tell you it is nothing like what has been described by others. I would say that around 90% of the students here are miserable constantly. There is absolutely nothing to do on campus and going into Augusta gets boring after the first 2 months or so. Since the newest headmaster began the school has taken a nose dive. They are trying to expand the amount of students going here, but by doing so are accepting kids with absolutely no intelligence. I kid you not there was a student who had no idea the president was part of the government. There is absolutely no school spirit aside from color week (don't even get me started on that...). The biggest problem of all is the fact that the Dean of Students has literally an unfathomable amount of power over everything. She takes out her anger and frustration on students by not allowing them to get points cleared and does not care if she puts the wrong people in detention and restriction. It has gotten to the point of being unbearable and I can say that the only thing keeping me going at this point is thoughts of college
Submitted by parent on November 13, 2010

I highly recommend this school if you are looking for a sense of community and support for your student. There is a lot of collaboration--it is not an overly competive environment.